MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1919, Page 12

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

STABILISING THE INDUSTRY: "A congress of motor manufacturers, representing England, France, Belgium, and America was recently held in Paris. The meeting decided that with a view of giving the European firms an opportunity of stabilising their industry after the disruption caused by the war, 10 per cent, ad valorem duty be charged on all Italy or Belgium (the U.S.A. has for European cars entering England, France, years charged about 45 per cent.), whilst 45 per cent, duty be charged on all American cars. The voting was' 4to 1 in favor of the proposed tariffs. Should this resolution be adopted by the respective governments it means that the home products of the European countries named would respectively have a 10 per cent, protection against each other. The matter, which is of vital importance to the motor industry of Europe, is to be discussed Iby the respective governments at an early date. Should the decision of, the congress be given effect to it would be interesting to see what the Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments will do in this direction. One, thing is certain, the British car has a stiff uphill fight ahead to regain its pre-war standing in the southern hemisphere, and some preference will be essential if the British makers are to re-gain the Australasian market.

CARS IN AMERICA'. The registration of motor vehicles in the United States in 1918 totalled nearly £5,300,000, of which over 5,000,000 were passenger care. These figures represent an increase of 121 per cent, over the 1917 registrations. The past year saw a great increase in the number of motor trucks made -250,000 being constructed as against 9500 in 1910, Needless to say a great number of these waggons found their way to France. A "KICK" STARTER. The "kick starter" now being adopted by many leading motor cycle makers appears to be very successful. The wonder is that some enterprising firm has not elaborated this system of engine starting and applied it to light cars. It would certainly be preferable to cranking.

GERMAN MANUFACTURE. The Germans are already preparing to turn out motor cars, and in all probability they will be ready to supply quite as early as the British firms, but it is hardly likely they will"find a market in the Allied countries. Italy is especially well prepared, and France also has not Ijeen idle. Both these countries make the highest class of motor cars, and they are likely to he marketed at attractive figures. Belgium is making every effort to re-establish her motor industry, and already the Minerva psople are starting operations. The English motor trade has not yet settled down after its great war efforts. Meanwhile one of the leading 'German firms is advertising a 25-h.p, car, complete with electric lighting and starting gear, at a shade over £4OO. Another firm is marketing a strange hybrid vehicle. It is a cross between a motor enr and an aeroplane. It is driven much the same as an aeroplane, and is steered by tail plane. It is intended apparently for use in desert country and places where roads are unknown. POTENT FACTORS. Ideals in both life and business are highly potent factors. Was there not an idea! at the back of J. B. Dunlop's mind in ISBB when he introduced the first pneumatic tyre? That ideal was to render the bicycle not only more comfortable, but actually a more speedy and practical means of personal conveyance. And so through the various decades, liis ideals have gradually materialised, accompanied by commercial success which to-day reflects itself in the vast Dniilop organisations all over the world, embracing not only—as ©lirilop once thought—the bicycle tyre, but its far greater and more important offspring; the motor tyre. It may be truly said that the Duiilop tvre made motoring possible; but the bicycle and "Dunlop's" have become universal, for there is not a road, nor scarcely a beaten track, npdn the face of the world which the bicycle has not traversed.

AIRPLANE AND MOTOR ENGINES. Suggestions have been rife, says tfis •Scientific American, that the experience acquired in the building and operation of airplane engines during the war is likoly materially to affect Sjie design of automobile engines. In fact, from tile delivery of the fuel by the carburettor to (lie delivery of power by the crankshaft the operation of the two types of engine is identical, so one might be pardoned for supposing that a reduced size of airplane engine would at once be applicable to automobile use. That this is not at all the ease, however, will he plain enough after a little closer consideration. The airplane engine, owing to its overhead valve gear and its relatively loose fitting, is decidedly noisy—a condition which makes it undesirable for automobile use. The airplane engine, to save weight, has a light crankshaft of high-class expensive steel. Under full | power this vibrates, whereas in the [ motor car engine it is found advisable i to emnlov a heavier and 3tiffer shaft in

order to minimise vibration. In other words, it doesn't make much difference whether an airplane engine barks and vibrates; so it is made noisy anl vibrating in order to gain other advantages which do make a difference. But the motor car engine must neither bark nor shiver, and baa to be built wit'u this fact in mind. Again, there is the question of speed. Everybody knows that an airplane engine is much faster than an automobile engine; everybody perhaps does pot realise what a fundamental difference in const.ruet>on\this involves. Thus, carburation in the airplane engine is such as to afford a very limited degree of flexibility, whilst the ground engine must mix the fuel thoroughly for a wide range of speeds. Moreover, the airplane, engine needs to develop full power at one speed only, while the driver of a car expects his engine to deliver full torque at any speed and without vibration. Tho shaft of the airplane engine turns at about half the speed shown by,tlint of the automobile engine, making the two quite different as a mechanical proposition. Nor is speed the only particular in which operation differs on land as against in tho air. The airplane engine is always supplied with, a light volatile fuel, allowing carburation at elevations of 15,000 feet, where the compression area is reduced 40 per cent; the automobile is supposed to handle lower grades of fuel without trouble, and in this regard must always do better in the future than in the past—for high grade petrol gets scarcer every year. Then the airplane engine is treated like a siek baby, getting the most expert attention at frequent intervals. The automobile engine, on the other hand, is usually handlc-d by one who is not a good mechanic, and under all kinds of treatment is expected to run smoothly for long periods without attention. In addition to this general condition there is tho specific fact that the airplane engine usually operates in a dust-free atmosphere, while the automobile is exposed to vast quantities of dust and dirt. Without becoming too technical for the lay reader, perhaps we can point out that the airplane engine, in order to meet the demand for minimum weight, is usually provided with steel cylinders, with, jackets welded on. This construction is expensive; further, it takes up more height than can be devoted to the cylinders in a motor car. Here we have another instance of sacrificing something that doesn't count—height—for something that does—weight. But the thing that didn't count in the plane does count in the automobile.

From these brief remarks it is plain that for the best results each type of eneine should be considered as ,a separate problem, and should beso treated as best to adapt it to the conditions which it should meet. There is no advantage to be derived in trying to usa the one in place of the other. Manufacture of airplane engines has helped to raise the standard of workmanship i in many automobile shops, beyond question. Puriher than this we should hesitate to go in drawing lesions from the airplane development of the war for application to tile automobile. MINOR LEAKS. One of the most irritating of minor troubles on a car is a tyre that leaks slightlv but continuously. In dealing with this the first point to discover is whether the valve is at fault. If the dust cap and small-end cap are removed and a glass of water hold so as to submerge all the lower part of the valve, any leakage will be revealed by bubbles; these may be either at the end, which means a defect at- the pin plug, or at the joiDt, which sugegsts that a new washer is required as cure. Should no bubbles appear, tlio cover must be removed and the tube taken out. Even then the valve may be at fault, a somewhat rare defect being leakage where the valve stem enters the tube;, but a cure for this requires special vulcanising, and is best handed over to a competent repairer. The difficulty in tracing a minut.3 leak in the tube itself is that vliei! tented under water in the usual way. the air pressure cannot be made nearly as great as when the tube is in the cover. Consequently the rubber is not sufficiently stretched to allow the leak to reveal itself by bubbles issuing from the tube. After* long use a tube tends to become somewhat porous in various place, or it may occasionally haptive one, and needs: replacing with a new tice one, and needs .replacing with a new tube.

A USEFU-L JHOT. Many car-owntrs are not aware that the gear-box ?honld not bo completely filler, with grease or the lubricant used. Recent experiments conducted in England at the National Physical Laboratory proved that a completely filled Sear-box absorbed as much as nearly a quarter of the driving power—and that only when three-quarters full 971 per cent, of the power Tva3 transmitted